Baked Doughnuts

I can’t go another minute without telling you that these baked doughnuts…well, they will probably change your life just like they did mine.

Imagine the fluffiest, chewiest morsel of doughnut goodness, warm from the oven and coated in a glorious butter, cinnamon-sugar mixture. And the doughnut holes? Utterly unreal.

Why is it that something so bite-sized can be so addicting?

The astounding thing is that they are baked. BAKED! Baked and not fried.

I’m not arguing that these baked doughnuts are healthy, by any means, but compared to their fried cousins – well, I’ll take these soft, tender baked doughnuts any day.

I made a personal goal before baking these that I would only eat two doughnut holes. Two. You know, limiting refined sugars and carbs and blah, blah, blah, whatever, because I was powerless (powerless!) to eat less than five of the doughnut holes in order to gain a perfect perspective on whether these should be made again.

Doughnuts:

Topping:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Add the butter. Mix the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands) for 2-3 minutes at medium speed. Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky - don't overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (the exact time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen).

Punch down the dough and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don't fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough. Cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap. (At this point, you can refrigerate the doughnuts overnight or proceed with the recipe.) Let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8. They should still be pale on top, not golden and browned, and just barely baked through.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Serve immediately.

Notes

These little beauties are best made and eaten the same day, preferably warm right from the oven. The great news is that you can make the dough, roll and cut out the doughnuts the night before and let them do their second rising in the fridge, covered. Remove them from the refrigerator and put them on the counter about an hour before baking. I used instant yeast in the recipe. If you only have active dry yeast on hand, proof the yeast with 1/3 cup of the warm milk and the sugar until it is foaming before adding in the rest of the milk and proceeding with the recipe.

Follow @melskitchencafe on Instagram and show me the recipes you are making from my blog using the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I love seeing all the goodness you are whipping up in your kitchens!

I was looking for a baked donut recipe without using a donut pan and found a blog that linked to this recipe! Why I didn’t look here in the first place!! Duh!!

I can’t wait to try them! Do you have any tips on how to add some apple flavor either with shredded apple, apple sauce or apple butter? I am not sure at what point it could be added and how it may affect baking time. Thanks!

I first came across this recipe from 101 Cookbooks website back in 2008, but felt compelled to comment here, although I very seldom post comments.

First, you definitely picked a winner! Aside from brioche doughnuts, these hold their own any day against fried version.

For those who feel the donuts are “bready,” adding too much flour sounds to be the likely culprit.

FWIW, these donuts are ~56% hydration, including the egg, once converting the measurements to grams. I use a bit less flour to get ~60 – 65% hydration. This also results in baked breads and pastries remaining fresh up to 4 – 5 days.

The higher the hydration, the softer baked breads/pastries, but for this non-brioche, I wouldn’t push past 70 – 75%.

The dough needs to be fairly soft, but not overly sticky, although soft doughs can be a challenge for some home bakers.

A tip is to check the side label of the mfg. flour used. Most AP flour in the U.S. states 30g = 1/4 C.

While many folks balk at using metric measurements and weighing ingredients, doing so provides accurate and consistent results each and every time.

A last tip is to mix only the milk and flour initially and hydrate 20 – 30 mins just to begin gluten development. This allows any soft dough to be more easily handled.

The dough may also be chilled overnight in fridge before shaping, but requires a bit of advance planning.

Anytime this is done, the dough is soft, pliable and extremely easy to shape next day.

Again, you did your readers a valuable service to re-post a great baked donut recipe.

Do you mind giving me some friendly input? I can’t have dairy products but I would love to try your recipe. If I use almond or soy milk it would have less fat content than milk, and if I use margarine instead of butter and of course would have more water than actual fat. I’m thinking this might be a Kill for dairy free version. Do you think from a Baker’s perspective that it would be better to just stick with dairy-free recipes instead of converting when it comes to yeast doughnuts specifically?

Hi Brandie – that’s a good question…and one I don’t really know the answer to. I do think using dairy-free substitutes will definitely alter the outcome, but I’ve also heard from a lot of readers over the years who have successfully subbed in dairy alternatives. As for these doughnuts, I can’t remember if someone has successfully made them with dairy free ingredients…but it’s probably worth a try if you are up for experimenting.

AMSOLUTELY AMAZINGi’m in love with cinnamon sugar version, but I made some other variations too.They are so soft and fluffy, I made 2 parts and it took 6 dozen (70 doughnuts) and let them raise longer than you recommend. Also added more yeast (fresh)Thank you so much for this recipe, I will use ut again ❤

Great recipe! I halfed it for lack of self-control around doughnuts and it still turned out perfectly. I just use a coffee mug to cut them and made a long John out of the leftover dough. I didn’t cut any holes but used my thumb to press into the center which I filled with homemade jam once they were covered with the sugar. I sprinkled a little more sugar on afterward too!

Can these be made into long johns? I always have issues cutting them – which leads me to not making them very often. My son has asked for them for his birthday party breakfast. My issue is they after I cut the doughnut it reconnects before I can pick it up – leading to funny shaped donuts and frustration for me!
Thanks for any help or input regarding long johns – figured I could frost them..

Well Kate, I decided find an answer to your query since I, too, enjoyed the cinnamon sugar topping but my kids wanted to sail into the uncharted territory of sprinkled baked doughnuts.
I tried two chocolate doughnut glaze recipes from the internet, but the first was grainy and the second one wouldn’t stick to the doughnuts (deal-breaker!). I would have tried basic ganache (chocolate + heavy cream), but I didn’t really want to chill my warm doughnuts just so the ganache could set.
So I did a 1/4 recipe of chocolate cream cheese frosting (from the red checkered BH&G cookbook) and added a little milk to thin it out. And that worked splendidly! I found you can dip the doughnuts or pick them up & ice them. Both sprinkles & crushed peanuts stuck very well.
In the future, I’ll probably do half the batch cinnamon sugared and half glazed/frosted with toppings.
Hope that helps!

Hi – I just made these and they are going into the frig for the night. I had issues cutting them out. I had a doughnut cutter, so I thought it would be simple. Sadly, every time I cut the dough it would attach back to itself before I could pick it up. The same with the doughnut hole. Hopefully they will taste a lot better then they look 🙂 Is this the way it is with this type of dough, or is there something I could have done differently?

These were so awesome, Mel! I think I rolled it too thin, because I used a 2 1/2 inch circle but it didn’t rise much. They tasted so awesome, though! I did the cinnamon sugar but also make pastry cream for the ones I didn’t put a hole in. We had some friends over…a total of 8 kids arms they gobbled them up! Thanks for recipe; I can always count on your recipes!

Hi Mel,
I just tried making your recipe last night. However, my dough didn’t look nice; the shape of doughnut distroted. Today I will start baking and follow your suggestion that “take the dough out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before you want to bake them”. So, my question is can I reshape my dough again before I bake? or like a ball one? If, so when can I reshape them again, right after take them out from the fridge or wait for how long?
Thank you

We have been looking for a household baked donut recipe that we love and these are AWESOME! I made them with my daughter during my son’s nap and we had a great time! I am glad I found your website, it looks like I will be back to make pretzels soon…

These are perfect, I loved them, my husband loved them, our 19 months old loved, loved, loved them (I iced them and put heart-shaped sprinkles on top), my parents loved them (minus the sprinkles, guess who got all the grandparents’ little sugar hearts?)…
I have made them three times in the last two weeks.
I just make the dough, bake it as per the recipe, put icing, chocolate, green tea glaze… on top; everybody is happy!
Thanks (once more) for such a great recipe!!

i tried this recipe the other day and i ended up with a bagel like texture. I used marg instead of butter, and i dont think the dough rose enough. after a retry with unsalted butter instead they are definetly less bread like. I think the salt in the marg stopped the yeast from working properly though i didnt add any additional salt like the recipe said to counteract the marg’s saltiness. maybe more sugar as well would help that problem? anyway just wanted to say its a great recipe, thank you. kate

I want to make this recipe using only donut holes…what size cutter would you suggest? I read your response about baking them for 6-8 minutes…thx…Hoping to inject the holes with raspberry jam…can’t wait to try this out!

Okay so I bought the ingredients for this doughnut recipe (http://www.imperialsugar.com/recipes/category/breads/Baked-Pistachio-Doughnuts) and read the instructions AFTER I got home, the night before I wanted to make them! Sadly, I don’t have a doughnut pan, so I was wondering… Do you think throwing in the pistachio instant pudding and pistachio pieces in with your doughnut recipe would totally ruin it? I’m desperate for some advice!

I am a tried and true follower of Mel’s recipes. My sister and I throw her name around casually like she’s our cousin or neighbor. The first time I made these night before last, it was a disaster BUT that is because I am a novice at working with yeast. I killed the yeast with scalding milk and I under kneaded it to boot. I called my sister who’s shared some tips on baking with yeast. So I gave it another go last night, because I promised my kids homemade doughnuts. My dough rose perfectly last night, I did the overnight fridge recommendation so I could bake them this morning. I woke up early and set them on the oven with the oven turned on warm and the door slightly cracked as my kitchen tends to be cold in the morning and I wanted them to have the warmth they needed. I was so stoked when I came out an hour later and they were super puffy!!! I used the butter/cinnamon/sugar as well as a chocolate glaze and sprinkles!! Thanks Mel for my happy doughnut loving children this morning!

Just made these doughnuts using my bread maker and they baked up really well. Added all ingredients to to bread maker (plus an extra tablespoon of milk, drop of orange oil and teaspoon of orange zest) on Dough cycle which lasted 45 minutes and then left the dough in the bread maker for an hour until doubled in size. Followed the rest of the recipe as directed. When cooked rolled in melted butter and then loads of icing sugar. Really great and almost identical to some I had tried at a local Italian bakery. Also, did notice that the left over dough from the cut outs that I kneaded, rolled out and cut again rose higher than the first batch. Thanks for the recipe!

These were amazing!!! I made all doughnut holes using a tablespoon for shape because I didn’t have any cookie cutters. I ended up only using the cinnamon/sugar for half and leaving the other half plain because the dough was sweet enough to be a treat on its own. This is an amazing recipe. Thank you so much for posting it!

I’ve been making bread for over 12 years, but never donuts. they turned out just like sweet bread! They rose perfectly, baked beautifully but turned out like sweet French bread with a typical, perfectly chewy French bread crust to it and a gorgeous crumb. It was REALLY good and we devoured them all for breakfast with butter and homemade jam…but definitely not donuts. Do you suppose I kneaded it too much? Baked too long? Should have added more milk? Any thoughts? I want to try again but would love some hints.

Hi BlissfulBaker – thanks for checking in on this recipe. I think it might boil down to texture preferences. Other commenters have also suggested they thought these were more bready than doughnuty, if that makes sense. They have a very different texture than fried doughnuts, although I still find this version light and delightful for a baked doughnut. The dough might be slightly too bread-like if you really love the ethereal lightness of fried doughnuts. Does that make sense?

Nothing like keeping an older site alive, especially when the recipe actually works!

Made these last week, and glazed them all over with Krispy Kreme glaze recipe, sorry did not use yours, but was looking for a particular thing, you understand. Anyway, followed the recipe to a T otherwise, folk, these are fantastic when glazed all over, they were just as good at the end of the day and even the next morning, left in a basket in open air. They keep very well when used with any kind of regular sugar glaze, all over, top, bottom, you get the idea. Wonderful recipe Mel, have been searching and searching for a recipe that does not use donut pans, and is baked. The nutmeg is definitely a key ingredient, you nailed this one. About to experiment with adding some clementine juice and rind to the dough as they are in season right now, and adding some to the glaze as well. People, this is super easy, requires very little actual hands on time, and is very adaptable to add your own variations. Just sayin’, glazing them all over, they keep for a couple of days. Thank you again Mel, will have to look at your other ideas when I can drag myself away from this one.

Most excellent, and still searching for my Hungarian gram’s donuts that were fried, but were super light and filled with air. Can remember cutting them out as a child, but the recipe is lost, she took it with her of course 40 years ago, as all Grams do, they never wrote anything down, but these were super light and remember warm milk in there, maybe even sour milk, we could fillf them with anything we wanted and loved the fluffy cream filling the best. Anyone have something like this…Mel???

These were amazing! Made them today and out of all the doughnut recipes I have tried these are the very best. Not to mention they actually come out looking like the picture. Thanks for the great doughnut recipe.

My thermometer says for the dissolving method, the liquid should be between 105 and 115 degrees F (40 and 46 degrees C). For the non-dissolving method the liquid should be between 120 and 130 degrees F (49 and 55 degrees C). The dissolving method is the “proofing” method and the non-dissolving method would be the one where the dry yeast is mixed with the flour before adding the liquid. With an instant read thermometer it is easy to make sure your liquid is the right temperature before adding to the yeast.

Found this recipe pinned on Pinterest. My daughter has an egg allergy so she’s never been able to eat a doughnut. I used your recipe and only changed it by adding egg replacer by Ener-G instead of the eggs. They turned out PERFECT!!! We all loved them! I am definitely going to be making these again. (Much to the dismay of my waistline!) Hey at least they’re baked though, right? 😉

I find myself thinking about these again and again… Already I have made them several times, but they are just SO divine it almost hurts and I can’t seem to stop thinking about them. They have cursed me, these doughnuts!

ok Mel…help me out on this one….I baked the doughnuts anyway (see above comment) and they rose while in the oven and came out tasting amazing!!! not as puffy as they should have been but nonetheless delicious!! my boys each ate 4 and then I had to tell them no more….do breads sometimes take on their final rise while in the baking stage??

Pls. help me how to mix and bake or dip fry the donuts and also the measurement of the engredients and how many menutes to bake and fry the donuts for 12 donuts thank you very much if you can e-mail me.

I made these doughnuts last night…. To say the least they were absolutely fantastic. The dough was fabulous to work with and they turned out so pretty! So so pretty! And fluffy and delicious and now I want to make them again, but it’s really too early for that because I made them last night :C But I wANNAaahh boooh boooohh hoooh!!

I baked half of the dough as a loaf and I’m going to make french toast out of it. Yep. I said it. Doughnut french toast. YEP.

I used palm sugar instead of refined sugar in the dough – just melted it into the milk. If anyone cares to try it I know that it works. Thank you SO much Mel. Thank you thank you, oh and my significant other says thank you, and my brother and his girlfriend and probably the entire world.

Samantha – well, first of all, I promise that I don’t doctor up my pictures to be anything other than they are. 🙂 Second, the patches and lines you see in the donuts are simply where the cinnamon and sugar didn’t stick to the butter. So yep, they are the baked donuts – not fried (I’ve actually never fried donuts before…).

Mel, I love so many of your recipes and I’m not trying to sound like a smart aleck but are those pictures really of your baked donuts? The lighter color running across the middle your donuts and donut holes are the distinct lines of frying donuts and not oven baked donuts. Just wondering why those pictures are of fried donuts?

I’m sitting here so tempted and so scared. I feel like If it does not come out right when I attempt it that I’ll be letting you dowm.lol. Please tell me how many grams is a stick of butter, and can I use margarine instead of butter. Crossing my fingers before I do it. Only prob is if it does come out right then peoople are going to ask me to make them all the time

my little guy just had a tonsillectomy last week and while looking for soft foods on your blog I found these—-he LOVED them!!! I only made 1/2 a batch, and I made them all into the holes. Also-has anyone just tried the doughnut after baking but before the butter and sugar–it reminds me of the rolls from the chick n minis at chikfila. I’m thinking I’m going to just make sweet hot rolls from this dough–so yummy!

Jocelyn, don’t be rude! Mel is sharing things she likes as a friend. Respond like a friend! That is to say, not at all if you don’t like them! Think Thumper… I proofed my yeast in a separate cup and when I went to wash it out I realized it had sugar and clumps of yeast left in it. Oops! Think they are fantastic anyway!

Lanikazi – these doughnuts do not have the same texture as a fried doughnut. They are definitely more roll-like but they should still be tender, especially if they aren’t baked too long. And the dip in butter and cinnamon and sugar is definitely what makes them more doughnut-like and sweet.

Hi, I made this today but they have the texture of a soft pretzel or a light bagel. Is that what I should expect? They are also not sweet at all until I added a vanilla glaze ( which didn’t come close to a fried glaze) or a dip in butter/cinnamon/sugar.

These taste like dinner rolls. Added the lemon filling to it anyways and it didn’t taste anything like a donut. Won’t be making these again unless I want dinner rolls (put them in the freezer for when I do need dinner rolls!).

Kat – I’m sorry these didn’t work out very well for you. Do you think you might have overfloured the dough? That could be another reason why they may not have risen very well and would also contribute to the density. Good luck if you try them again!

So I made these … and failed. Everything was mixing up fine, but I noticed that when I went to check my dough for softness/stickiness, it was very soft and slightly sticky, but it was also cold (not just “not warm,” but cold). My dough did rise, though not very well and it took almost 2 hours for the first rise and over an hour for the second (and in a very warm kitchen). In the end, they were really heavy and dense, and tasted more like french bread rolls with sugar on top. I think I might have over-heated my milk at first; it had to cool down a lot before I could add my yeast. Maybe that effected it? But it was weird to me that my dough wasn’t even room temperature by the time it finished mixing. I’d love to have these the way they were meant to be though, so I might have to try again. Maybe the second time will be a charm.

These look great!!
I would actually like to put them in a doughnut pan as I have one and love it! Do you think that would work? Anyone tried it?
Also, I´d like to try these gluten free with an all purpose gluten free flour blend. Anyone have any thoughts on that? If I do it, I´ll let you all know anyway.

Oh Mel, I broke down and made these today. Probably because we FINALLY are having fall-ish weather down here in AZ, and something about it makes me wanna cook, bake and eat constantly. These babies are deadly! You weren’t kidding. I don’t want to admit how many I hate as we were buttering and sugaring them. I figured I’d pawn them off on my friend who I swap dinners with every week. Turns out she had the same idea. She made and brought us 1/2 a pan of your caramel brownies. Oh dear. I was done for. I’m gonna have to run an extra mile or 2 tomorrow! SO GOOD! Thanks for the tasty treats, even if I have to work them off. 🙂

I’ve never grated nutmeg. Do you grate it on a cheese grater? I checked Target and my grocery store today and didn’t see whole nutmeg. Should I hunt further for it? Or just use the ground nutmeg in my cupboard?

Catherine – I grate nutmeg on a rasp grater, the same tool I zest a lemon/orange with. If you absolutely can’t find whole nutmeg (it should be fairly widely available at grocery stores) go ahead with your ground nutmeg. It won’t make a noticeable difference in this recipe, most likely.

Making these tonight for a yummy treat after trick or treating 🙂 with apple cider of course. I think I will add a maple glaze on some of them….my husband is addicted to maple bars 🙂 Thanks for another great recipe!

Totally delicious! I found it much easier to dip these and then toss them with the sugar mixture in a paper bag. I put about 4 doughnut holes at one time, and 2 doughnuts at once. Worked beautifully and was less messy than trying to dip each one. They taste more like a super-soft cinnamon sugar pretzel than a doughnut, but we love them (I mean, does anything compare to a hot glazed Krispy Kreme??).

Eeya – you only need to proof the yeast with the sugar and warm milk if you are using active dry yeast. If you are using instant yeast you can put everything together without proofing the yeast first. The note below the recipe title gives a bit more information.

I knew there was such thing as baked doughnuts! I asked my husband that I wanted to find a recipe for baked doughnuts and he looked at me funny and said, “there’s no such thing!” I was bummed then what do I see on your blog? Those doughnuts look sooo goood! I am definitely making them soon!

love these! I did make some and dipped them and froze them, popped the in the microwave for a few secs and they were good as new. since they are so much like rolls, they are great frozen and reheated. I’m even making another batch now to freeze shaped (after you have punched them into donuts) and I’ll take them out the night before to rise slowly overnight. I’ll let you know how that turns out!

Thank you for another great recipe – my husband said he likes these better than cinnamon rolls (I don’t know if I’d go that far – I love the brown sugary goodness in your vanilla pudding rolls). Anyhoo, I wasn’t sure if the butter in the dough was to be melted, or room temperature – so I melted it and it worked fine. Unfortunately the butter for coating the outside of the donuts wasn’t enough, I used a whole stick of butter – so they will definitely be a treat! Thank you!

oh Mel..I am sooo disappointed..my dough didn’t rise :(….boo hoo..LOTS of anticipation over these yummy doughnuts from my boys :(….help?! The only thing I can think of is that my milk might not have been warm enough to activate the yeast? The dough didn’t rise much on the first rise and not at all on the second rise in the fridge overnight….
melanie

Melanie – so sorry your dough didn’t rise! The rising issue could have been due to the yeast not activating (milk too warm or not warm enough), as well as too much flour in the dough. A really stiff dough won’t rise as well as a soft, tender dough. I hope they work out better if you try them again!

You’ve just reminded me how very long (since Helen first posted them a couple years ago!) I’ve had these doughnuts bookmarked. I think I keep trying to forget about them because I’m going to be in trouble once I do, I just know it. You’ve only convinced me that I was right… and that I may very well just not care any more and go lookin’ for some cinnamon-sugary trouble! 😉

Okay, so I overbaked the bottoms *slightly* on one batch, and the second was undoubtably better because there was no browning at all. Super soft and scrumptious, like something you’d get from a doughnut shop! (Minus all the grease and stickiness!)

Since I was late to make them today, we didn’t eat many (My 17 month old daughter INHALED them… to the point that she has cinnamon sugar stuck in her hair and under her shirt, and had to get a mid-day bath) so, I definitely wanted to try freezing them.

After an hour of freezing on the sheet pans, then transferred to freezer safe baggies for 4 additional hours, these babies were JUST as heavenly as they were right out of the oven! I plopped a doughnut onto a plate, popped it into the microwave, and nuked it for MAYBE 30 seconds. You have to be careful though, cause if you overcook them, the doughnut comes out dry. The cinnamon sugar comes out like a glorious glaze on the top… Now, maybe heating it with a wet paper towel would help? I’ll have to try it out 🙂

Seriously guys, if you are even CONTEMPLATING making these, DO IT. I’m not big on cinnamon, but these are HEAVEN. This is a perfectly sized preggo snack, and it HAS to be healthier than the triple chocolate brownies I’ve been craving! Especially since we live out in the boonies, and for the life of me, I can’t remember the last time I had a freshly made doughnut!

oh yum! I can do baked doughnuts! I cannot bring myself to make or eat fried doughnuts, but I am so excited to try these. Probably should wait until After our family pictures next week to make these as to not gain 5 lbs from eating them all. 🙂 Thanks for another fun recipe, Mel!

These look so so good. I love doughnuts. Yum. Gonna have to make these, hopefully they come out as good as yours. I’m not much of a baker. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Will let you know how they come out. Have a good day. 🙂 Rochelle.

I have not made these donuts, but I did make your delicious caramel apple cheesecake bars! I followed the recipe exactly, except I used a 9″ spring form pan to make it a traditional cheesecake shape. The dinner club loved it and there was caramel sauce leftover. My girls are loving that with sliced apples. Thank you for your great recipe site!

I’d like to see the recipe for the Pumpkin Baked Doughnuts Renee mentioned. I wonder how different it is from this one. Gotta try these. My 7 yr old loves cooking breakfasts so I know she’ll enjoy helping with these.

Just a quick answer to the yeast questions. The only difference in “rapid rise” or “instant” yeast (they are the same) and regular yeast is that the quick and rapid variety have a smaller grain. This means that they do not need to be “proofed.” You can mix them in with the flour in your recipe and they can combine with the moisture in the dough as it is mixed. This happens quickly and so the dough rises faster. Proofing just means that when you use regular yeast you add it to warm water (110 degrees- no hotter please!) and wait about 10 minutes until you see it beginning to bubble and make a froth on top. This means that it is still good and will cause your bread to rise when you add it! My question is: The doughnuts in the picture look like they are golden but it says not to let it become even golden in the recipe. Does it make them dry out or become tough? Shouldn’t it look at least a little golden? Thanks! p.s. I love your blog, everything I have tried has turned out great!

Sandra – actually the doughnuts are very pale. The cinnamon and sugar might make them look golden but they had absolutely no color on top when I took them out of the oven. Baking them to the point of golden browning on top will make them less chewy and soft. Hope that helps!

Hi Brenda – as Sandra explained above, active dry yeast needs to be proofed in warm water (and it helps to add a bit of sugar) in order to activate the yeast. Proofing means to let the yeast bubble and foam in the water/sugar mixture and then add it to the rest of the ingredients. If using instant yeast (or rapid rise yeast) you don’t need to proof the yeast first, you can add it in with the dry ingredients and it will still activate as the dough is mixed together. I hope that helps!

Actually, although this is a popularly-held belief, it is a misconception. Proofing is merely a step that “proves” the yeast is alive and ready to be activated. Proofing was commonly done in earlier times when refrigeration was not what it is today. Many recipes and their procedures were first written decades, or even more than a century ago.

Back in the infancy of home refrigeration, cooling came from the iceman delivering a block of ice to your icebox, which was just a relatively small box, as the name indicates, every couple of days. Dry yeast in packets was still not around, and yeast came in a “cake” form, a moist, pressed square. When the temperatures rose in the summer, the yeast quickly became spent, or inactive/dead.Therefore, the baker needed to “prove” the yeast was still alive and could be activated before adding and potentially wasting costly ingredients.

This step is not necessary if you have stored your yeast in the fridge or freezer. I offer as proof (no pun intended!) that when making bread in a bread machine, for example, you add all ingredients together and mix. The yeast is not dissolved separately in liquid and rested, then added to the rest of the ingredients. It rises quite well, even so.

There are any number of sources on the web and in print to verify this, so check them out if you need further corroboration.

The bottom line is that proofing yeast in no way makes it more effective. There is no magic in proofing yeast as so many think. Provided the yeast has been handled properly, a baker may feel free to skip that step, and know that the final product will be every bit as well risen and tasty as one in which the yeast was proofed.

You are KILLING ME, lady! I have been low-carb for almost a year now and doughnuts – OH. I miss them so. As it turns out, we have company coming in for the weekend. I probably should make these for them. It’s the right thing to do, don’t you think?

Okay, so one more baking related question from me because I am trying to earn my baking merit badge: how do you measure your flour? Do you just scoop it up in a cup or do you fill a cup with spoonfuls? Or does it really matter? Thanks so much!

I bought a donut pan a few months ago and have had fun making a variety of baked cake donuts (S’mores and Caramel Apple have been my favorite flavors to experiment with so far). I am defiantly going to try this recipe though, because although I like dense cake donuts nothing beats an airy, yeasty donut. I like that these have that texture but are baked (frying is just so messy).

Double Dipped Life – yes, I am on WordPress. I did my own website after I bought the Thesis Theme which is basically a theme that fits on WordPress and you can customize the way you like it. I’ve done all the graphic design elements and html/css stuff but just recently started working with a company (www.webfitters.com) who have helped me with some back end server stuff and helped me code a new footer for each post. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Yay! Like Kim, I LOVE that these don’t require a specialty pan. I hate buying stuff like that because I know it will gather dust most of the year (and if it ISN’T, then I’m probably eating way too many doughnuts!). I’ll have to give these a try soon!

Baked yeast doughnuts-who knew? (well, you of course!). I’ve been seeing baked doughnut recipes all over the internet lately, but they all require a special doughnut pan. I love that these doughnuts are baked on a baking sheet. These look absolutely amazing, and I can see why you couldn’t eat just two doughnut holes! 🙂